Anchovies
by Ice Dagger
Summary: After a big fight between Raphael and Leonardo, Michelangelo trys to talk some sense into his older brother. Raph and Mikey centric. Disclaimed.


Michelangelo sighed as he flipped past channel after channel, reclining not-so-comfortably on the sofa. Leonardo and Raphael had gotten into a big fight – again. Nothing new. But this time, they looked like they were really about to rip each other apart. If Donatello hadn't stepped between them, one of them would probably be in a body cast right now. Michelangelo just wasn't sure which one it would be. He let out another sigh and realized he had gone through every channel known to their television and started going through them all again. A roar of anger shook the room, causing the usually laid-back turtle to jump up.

"I said I don't want to talk about it! Now get the hell out of my room!"

"But Raph –"

"Out, Don! O-U-T!"

Michelangelo watched as Raphael emerged from his room, dragging Donatello behind him. His face was as red as it was ever going to get and his muscles tense as he threw Donatello into the common area of the sewer lair before disappearing into his room, the door slamming shut behind him. Michelangelo leaned over his brother in purple, lifting an eyebrow ridge. "You tried to talk to him?"

Donatello lay back on the concrete floor, looking up into his younger brother's face. "I know, I know. I was just worried."

Michelangelo nodded and offered his older brother a hand up, which he accepted. "You and me both, dude. That was one intense fight."

Donatello nodded sadly. "They looked ready to kill over it, didn't they?" He sighed and looked around the room. "Where's Leo?"

Michelangelo pointed over his shoulder towards the exit. "He went to go pick up some pizza."

Donatello shrugged. "Probably blowing off some steam cutting apart newspapers and trashcan lids while he's out."

Michelangelo laughed. "As long as he's not chopping me up, he can do whatever he wants."

"You have a point." Donatello agreed, chuckling.

"Who has a good point?" Leonardo walked through the gateway, muscles still taut with stress and anger.

Michelangelo shook his head. "Nothing, Leo." He bounded over to his oldest brother, taking in the delicious scent of parmesan and pepperoni that hung heavy in the air. "So, are you going to share or what?"

Leonardo gave his brother a tight-lipped smile before passing him one of the pizza boxes. "Pepperoni and anchovy pizza for you." He nodded to Donatello. "Hawaiian pizza for you. And sausage and olive for me."

Michelangelo blinked and counted again in his head. "That's only three." He said around a mouthful of cheese, sauce, and dough.

The blue ninja turtle snorted. "Let that ninja drop-out get his own dinner." That said, he promptly made himself comfortable on the sofa and opened his pizza box to take out a slice of his dinner.

The two younger turtles chanced a glance at each other, both still chewing on their pizza. Donatello swallowed and moved to sit by his older brother. "So, what are you watching?" He asked, making himself comfortable while Leonardo tried to make sense of what exactly his youngest brother had left on the television screen.

Michelangelo slipped away, knowing Donatello would get Leonardo to open up. "Way to go, Donnie." He whispered, shutting the cardboard top of his pizza box and carefully approaching Raphael's door. He stood in front of the shut door for a few seconds, listening to see if Raphael was mumbling to himself – which was a sign that he was not ready to see anyone. After hearing no noise coming from behind the door, he cautiously knocked.

"Damn it Don, I said I don't want to talk about it. Back off." A gruff voice shouted from inside.

Michelangelo pushed the door open and peered through the dim lighting at his older brother, who was tossing a sai up into the air and catching it by the tip of one blade. "Hey dude. I thought you might want some dinner."

Raphael looked over at his orange clad brother, sai dangling between two thick fingers. "I'm not hungry." He growled, tossing his weapon back up into the air.

Michelangelo walked over and plopped down on his brother's bed, oblivious to the glare. "Well I am." He popped open the box lid and got himself a large slice of pizza. He took a big bite, working the cheese around his mouth while talking to Raphael. "So, are you going to apologize?"

Raphael snorted. "Apologize? To that suck-up? Not in a million years."

The orange ninja turtle swallowed loudly and watched his older brother. He gently pushed the cardboard box closer and opened the lid a fraction more. "You really that mad?"

Raphael pushed his sai back into his belt angrily and swiped a slice of pizza, talking around his mouthful of dinner. "He just has to be right all the time. Perfect Leo. Damn teacher's pet." He made a face when he finished his bite and pulled an anchovy off the top. "I hate anchovies." He muttered.

Michelangelo plucked the anchovy out of his brother's hand and added it to his own slice. "Don't knock the anchovies, dude." He scolded playfully as he ripped another piece off in his mouth. "Leo shouldn't have yelled like that." He admitted around his mouthful. "But you scared us out there tonight."

Raphael scoffed and popped the rest of his slice into his mouth, chewing loudly. "Why? I could've handled them myself." He said arrogantly, reaching for another slice.

Michelangelo shook his head. "But you don't have to, Raph. We're family. We want to help you." Raphael didn't respond. He simply put another anchovy on top of Michelangelo's slice. The orange ninja turtle watched his brother eat for a few seconds before continuing. "I thought you weren't going to make it back this time." He admitted softly.

Raphael paused, cheese dripping onto his knee. He jerked when the molten Parmesan hit his skin and quickly wiped it up. He looked over at his youngest brother, slurping the cheese into his mouth. "That's stupid, Mikey. There were only five of them."

"Do you remember the last time there were 'only five of them'? One had a gun." He looked down, picking at the last bite of anchovy on his pizza slice. "What if one of them had a gun? He might have shot you." He plopped the half-eaten fish into his mouth. "It could have been worse than last time." He gulped, "Much worse."

The red turtle blinked at his little brother, who has hurriedly shoving the last of his second slice into his mouth, reaching for a third. "Mikey, nothin' was gonna happen to me. None of those punks had a gun on them."

Michelangelo nodded. "I know." He stared at the melting cheese and partially covered toppings before tore off a hunk. "It's just one of those – what does Donnie call those things that could happen?"

"Hypothetical?" Raphael asked, smirking that his brother.

He nodded. "Yeah, that. It's just weird, ya know? Thinking about what could have happen, what could have gone wrong . . ." He trailed off, swallowing his massive mouthful of pizza. Raphael watched his youngest brother carefully, noticing the sluggish movements – highly unusual given Michelangelo's eating habits. "I just don't want you to die out there Raph." He finally admitted. "After those five kids jumped you last time, I started thinking what we would do without you. And it was kind of . . . scary." Raphael's eyes went wide. Fear wasn't something the brothers talked about, least of all the hotheaded Raphael. "I know you don't wanna talk about it, dude. But I saw the same thing happening out there tonight, and it just kept playing in my head over and over – what might have happened hypo-thotic-nally, or whatever."

Raphael sat in silence, not even noticing his pizza growing cold in his hand. "We just don't want to loose you, Raph. That's why Leo was so hard on you." He paused again. "I mean, who would keep me off of Don's shell if you were gone?" He asked, laughing half-heartedly.

Raphael's mind began to wander. In his mind, the brothers would be better off with him gone. He created drama, he started fights, he hurt people. Michelangelo himself had been bed-ridden many times with broken bones and concussions from his fights with the red-clad ninja. He vaguely heard his brother continue. "Who would annoy Leo so he wouldn't notice how annoying I am? Who would save my shell when I got into trouble?" He finished, watching his older brother from the corner of his eye.

Raphael's mind drifted again. It was usually Michelangelo who saved his older brother's shell – what Raphael did was return the favor. Every time he and the oldest brother got into a fight, Michelangelo was the only one brave enough to follow him right out of the lair. Even Master Splinter seemed to give the red ninja more space after a fight, hoping that things would work themselves out and he didn't have to get involved. Michelangelo had been there more than once to listen to Raphael rant and rave about their "fearless leader", even being a sparring partner – punching bag, more likely – in those dark New York alleys when his older brother needed to work off some steam and the everyday crooks didn't quite cut it. The joking youngest brother was the only thing that kept rage from taking over Raphael those nights. So it only seemed fair that Raphael would save his brother whenever he didn't look before he leapt right into trouble. Of course, Michelangelo wouldn't see it that way – never in a million years, if they even lived that long.

"Hello? Earth to Raph."

Raphael shook himself back into reality and looked at his brother, pretending to be annoyed. "What?"

Michelangelo pointed to the red ninja's hand. "You gonna finish that slice?"

"Yes, it's my dinner and I'm going to finish it." To prove his point, Raphael slipped the entire slice of pizza into his mouth and chewed, swallowing it in a matter of seconds.

The orange clad ninja bemoaned his pizza-less fate while Raphael tried not to cough at lukewarm cheese stuck to the sides of his throat. He did, however, catch himself smiling slightly at his youngest brother. Funny Mikey – the only soul on the planet that could ever make him forget why he locked himself in his room. Michelangelo jumped up and grabbed the empty pizza box off the bed, walking towards the door. "I heard Revenge of the Ninja is on tonight. Channel 56. You wanna watch?"

Raphael shrugged and pushed himself up. "Sure, why not."

Just because he was leaving his room didn't mean he had to talk to Leonardo, but it was his own way of saying thank you to Michelangelo – being the first to leave his personal fortress and brave the lair was a big deal for Leonardo and Raphael. But if it made his youngest brother happy, then it was worth it. Just this once.


End file.
